Driver awareness is an important aspect of automobile safety. Vehicles are often equipped with various sensors and alert systems to increase the driver's level of awareness. Such features may include lane departure sensors, for example, that detect when the vehicle may be close to or over the painted lines on the road. Once detected, the driver may be notified of the lane departure by the vehicle through an indicator on the dashboard, a heads-up display, or a vibration in the seat, for example. This level of awareness may allow the driver to correct course and minimize risk of an automobile accident.
Automobile accidents may impact a driver's auto insurance. A driver having been in one or more accidents may indicate the driver's elevated risk of future automobile accidents. In the auto insurance industry, riskier drivers cost more to insure than less risky drivers. Accordingly, driver awareness and accident prevention reduce costs for the insurer as well as the insured driver by reducing the probability an accident will occur that requires payment by the insurer, and by reducing auto insurance premiums for the insured driver.
Excessive speeds may be a factor in at least some automobile accidents. Excessive speeds may be evaluated by comparing a current speed of a vehicle to a posted speed limit for a given road or other path of travel. A driver who maintains speeds at or below the speed limit may be less likely to be involved in an automobile accident. Most modern vehicles display the current speed to the driver in one or more ways, for example, on an analog dashboard speedometer or a digital speedometer. Such feedback allows the driver to control speed according to his knowledge of the speed limit and varying road conditions. The driver's appropriate control of speed may reduce his risk of being in an automobile accident that may ultimately increase his costs as an insured driver, as well as the insurer's costs in insuring the driver. By controlling speed and reducing risk, the driver may be able to reduce costs of auto insurance.